Balance-pump.



- O. B. WALKER.

BALANCE PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1911.

1,1 25,224. Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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THE NORRIS PETERS CG, FHOTOLITHDH WASHINGTON. D. C.

U. B. WALKER.

BALANCE PUMP.

APPLICATION TILED NOV.22, 1911. 1,125,224. Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

3 S ETSSHBET 2.

9Q WEIGHT THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHING rON. D. C.

G. B. WALKER. BALANCE PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1911.

1, 125,224, Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

YHE NOR/8!) PETERS c0 PHorn 1/7110. WASHINCION. D. c

ATEN -FTQE.

CLYDE B. WALKER, 0F JUNEAU, TERRITORY OF ALASKA.

BALANCE-PUMP.

' Specification of Letters Yatent.

Application filed November 22. 1911. Serial No. 861,758.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE B. VALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at. Juneau, Alaska, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Balance-Pumps, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to pumps, and particularly to pumps that are used for pumping liquid from a lower to a higher level.

One object of my invention is to provide a powerful pump of simple construction which requires less power to operate it than the pumps heretofore in use.

Another object is to provide a pump which is so constructed that the power which operates it does not have to be located directly above the supply of liquid being pumped, thereby enabling the operating mechanism to be located at a point some distance away from the source of liquid supply.

Another object is to provide a pump which is so designed that several separate and distinct operating devices located at different points, as, for example, different rooms in a house, may be employed for actuating the pump.

Another object is to provide a pump which permits the hand-pumping of" water up an incline, as, for example, up the slope of a hill from'a stream or source of water supply at the foot of the hill, the pump being so designed that it pushes instead of lifts the water from a lower to a higher level.

Another object is to provide an efficient portable pump that can be used in inacces- I sible places, as, for instance, the hold of a vessel or portions of a mine which cannot, be reached by ordinary suction pumps.

Other objects and desirable features of ..1y invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of a pump constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional. view illustrating a hydraulic mechanism that can be used for operating the pump; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a pump that is particularly adapted for use in inaccessible places or in'a well of small diameter; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a pump of slightly diiferent construction from the one shown in Figs. 1

and 3; and Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical sectional views illustrating other forms of my Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

an expansion chamber which communicates with the lower end of the cylinder A througha conduit or passageway 2Q The cylinder A of the pump shown in Fig. 1 is arranged in an upright or vertical position, and it is submerged in the liquid being pumped, for example, the water in a well, but it is not essential that the cylinder be upright for it could be arranged horizontally, inclined, or in various other ways. The member which constitutes the expansion chamber 13 is herein shown submerged in theliquid being. pumped, and said expansion chamber is connected with a pressure supply chamber C by means'of a conduit 3, thereby enabling the pressure-supply chamber C to be located above the ground and adjacent the opening of the well in which H the pump is installed so that the pressure inside of said chamber can be ascertained from a gage thereon. A sultable exp'ansibl'e medium, such, for example, as air under pressure, is supplied to the pressurechaim her 0 by a pipe .or conduit and an air pump,

not shown. The piston 1 inthe pump cylinder A is provided with a plunger 4 which projects upwardly into a vertically disposed tube or pipe 5 that communicates with the upper end of the cylinder A,,and a plurality of conduits 6 lead from the'upper end of said cylinder and are tapped into the tube 5 at a point above the extreme upper end of the plunger 4 when the piston 1 is at the end of its upward stroke, as shown in Fig.

1', said plunger 1 and piston l forming practically a tandem plunger. A second plunger 7, which I will term the operating plunger, is reciprocatingly mounted in the upper I} end of the tube 5, and a discharge nozzle 8 is located adjacent the upper end of said tube,-preferably at a point a short distance below the extreme'lower end of the operating plunger 7 when said operating plunger is at the end of its upward stroke. The upper and lower end portions of the tube 5"in.

which the plungers 7 and A, respectively, op-

erate, are straight as these portions of said tube act as cylinders for said plungers, but

the intermediate portion 5 of. said; tube may be either straight or curved as it merely serves as a conduit through which the liquid is forced from the source of supply to the discharge nozzle. Various means may be employed for operating the pump, and as the operating means used is immaterial so far as my broad idea is concerned, I have merely illustrated a weight 9 in Fig. 1 as the means for operating the plunger 7. The tube 5, conduit 6 and the upper portion of the cylinder A are always filled with the liquid being operated on, and I also prefer to have some liquid on the under side of the piston 1 in the cylinder A so as to prevent the escape of the liquid from the upper side of said piston and the escape of the air in the expansion chamber B from the under side of said piston. Consequently, when the operating plunger '4' is forced downwardly by the pressure that is applied to the upper end of same the liquid in the intermediate portion of the tube 5 will transmit the pressure of the plunger 7 to the plunger a and thus cause said plunger 4; and the piston 1 to move downwardly, the liquid in the tube 5 being prevented from escaping into the conduits G by means of check valves 10 which open in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. When the piston 1 moves downwardly, as previously described, the liquid being pumped rushes into the upper end of the cylinder A through inwardly opening check valves 11 located in the sides of said cylinder adjacent the upper end of same, the liquid in the conduits (3 being prevented from backing up or from rushing into the cylinder A by means of check valves 12 which open in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. The downward movement of the piston 1 not only causes liquid to be drawn into the cylinder A but it also causes the expansible medium in the expansion chamber 13 to be placed under greater pressure. As soon as the operating plunger 7 is released from the pressure or load imposed upon same, the piston 1 and plunger 4: will be forced upwardly by the expansion of the air in the expansion chamber B, the liquid on the upper side of the piston 1 be ing forced upwardly through the conduits 6 and thence through the intermediate portion of the tube 5 to the discharge nozzle 8, and the pressure which the liquid exerts on the operating plunger 7 as said liquid is being forced through the tube 5 to the discharge nozzle 8, causing said operating plunger to move upwardly past the discharge nozzle. Instead of having the cyl inderv A submerged in the liquid being pumped, pipes or conduits could be employed for establishing communication be tween the source of liquid supply and the inlet openings in the cylinder A which the valves '11 close.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a pump of the construction above described is practically a balance pump and that the piston 1 is always acted upon by two opposing forces, namely, the expansible medium in the chambers B and C which tend to move the piston 1 upwardly and the weight of the liquid in the intermediate portion 5 of the tube 5 which tends to move said piston downwardly. Another desirable feature of such a pump is that the momentive power of the falling body of water in the tube 5 when the operating plunger 7 is forced downwardly greatly increases the power of the pump. The fact that the discharge nozzle and operating mechanism of the pump do not have to be located directly above or in alinement with the pump cylinder and the source of supply, permits the pump to be used for pumping water from a well located some distance away from the house in which the operating mechanism and discharge nozzle is installed, and the fact that the pump forces the liquid instead of sucking or drawing it, permits the hand-pumping of water up an incline as, for example, up the slope of a hill, from a stream or source of supply at the base of the hill. Another desirable feature of such a pump is that it can be used for supplying water to a number of discharge nozzles, thus making the pump admirably adapted for use in a water system for household purposes. In Fig. 6 I have illustrated how the pump can be used. in this manner, the reference character 8 designating a plurality of discharge nozzles located in different rooms of a house, the reference character 7 designating a plurality of operating plunger-s, each of which cooperates with one of the discharge nozzles, and the reference character 5 designating tubes in which the plungers '7 are reciprocatingly mounted and which lead to a common water column tube'55 that communicates with the upper end of the cylinder A of the pump. with such a structure it would be necessary to employ locking devices of some character for holding the operating plungers 7 in an inoperative position so as to permit water to be pumped from one nozzle without affecting the other discharge nozzles- Any suitable locking devices may be used for this purpose such, for example, as pins in the tubes 5 that project into spiral grooves in the plungers 7, the spiral grooves 57 communicatingwith straight vertically-disposed grooves 57* shown in broken lines in Fig. 6. Normally, the pins 56 lie in the spiral grooves and thus prevent the plunger-s 7 from being reciprocated, but by turning the plungers, the straight grooves 57* will be brought into alinement with the pins and thus permit the plungers to be reciprocated in the tubes 5 And still another desirable feature of my pump is that the weight of the human body mean can be used as power to operate the plunger 7 either separately or in. addition to the power that can be exerted on said plunger bymuscular force. If steam power is used to operate the pump a great saving in condensation of steam is obtained because the power is applied at the surface of the column of water rather than by long Conduits of steam pipes down to the source] from which the water or liquid is taken.

If desired, a hydraulic apparatus of any preferred design may be'used for operating the plunger 7 of the pump in case the pump is used in deep drill wells. In Fig. 2 Ihave illustrated one form of hydraulicapparatus that may be used for this purpose but it will, of course, be understood that any other suitable hydraulic apparatus could be used. The hydraulic apparatus shown in said figure comprises a piston 14 connected to the upper end of the operating plunger 7? of the pump and arranged in a cylinder 15 whose upper end communicates with a supply conduit 16 through which liquid is forced by means of a manually-operated force pump. The force pump shown in consists of a cylinder 17 whose lower end is submerged in a supplyof liquid in'a tank 18, a piston 19 reciprocatingly mounted in the cylinder 17 and provided with an inwardly openingcheck valve 20, and a manu allyoperated lever 21 connected to the piston 19 by means of a link 22. henthe outer end of the lever 21 is depressed, the plunger 19 of the force pump will move up-. wardly and thus force the liquid, on the upper side of said plunger through the con duit 16 and into the upper end ofthe cylinder 15, thereby exerting pressure onthe upper side of the piston 14: whichjis c'on nected to the operating plunger 7 When the outer end of the lever 21 of the'force pump is elevated the plunger 19 of said pump will move downwardly and the liquid in the tank 18 will rush into the cylinder 17 of the force pump through the opening which the check valve 20 closes. By rocking said lever 21 up and downthe liquid in the V tank 18 will be forced intothe upper portion of the cylinder 15 and thus cause the piston 14 in said cylinder to be forced downwardly with a step-by-step movement, and when said piston 14 reaches the end of its downward stroke a stop 23 on the bottom of the cylinder 15 trips a valve 2 1 in the piston 14 and thus permits the liquidon the upper side of said piston to escape 'ai'itomatically through a trough 25 which leads from the cylinder 15 to the supply tank118, theoperating plunger 7 jmoving upwardly as soon as the pressure on the upper side of the piston 14 is released and thus causing the liquid being pumped to be forced upwardly through the tube 5 to the discharge nozzle 8 by means of the expansion of the air in the expansion chamber B, as' previously."dc

scribed in connection with F ig. 1.1 I 1 While I have herein illustrated a struc-j ture in which the tube. 5 through whichf'the liquid is forcediis of "a'niu ch snialler dia'meter than the cylinder A, it'jwi'll, oftcourse, be understood that the relative dimensions of said tubefan d e'ylinderare'inimaterial sojfar as my broad idea is concerned and that if desired, the tube 5 could be of the same diameteras' the cylinder A provided, of course,,that the d mens ons of'the expanslon chamber and pressure chamber be correspondingly increased and; that the Weight ofpressure applied to the operating plunger 7'be also increased. In order that the practical application of my invention maybe more elearly understood' we will assume that "with a su'staining force in'the eXpansionchambersufii' cient to support l50lbs. the sustaining'for'ce remains the same although the arlea of said chamber may be increased or fdecreased,

when'the expansibility or compressibility of the air changes; \Yhen the cooperating parts of the pump are in the position shown in Fig; llet us assume that140. lbs. are required to depress the piston 1 and'that the.

weightof the water on piston 1 and 'pl'un ger 4 during the recoil is 7 5 lbs. plus 20 lbs.

Upon theremoval of the MOlbS-HWeight of reason that if the power weight is less than 95 lbs. it will be apparent that when piston l-plunger t 'is depressed it will remain in position without recoil in the position shown in Fig. 1. It will thus be seenthat as the power weight decreases, so long as the device will operate, the speed of the recoil decreases.

ad of constructing the pu p i 't manner shown in Fig. 1, the pump could be designed in the manner shown in *Fig. 5 of the drawings. Referring to said figure, the reference character 5O designatesa rigid shaft which projects upwardlyfrom thepiston 1 through a guide 52 on the upper end of the cylinder A. i A discharge pipe 8 leads from the upper end ofYthe cylinder and check-valves .ll and l2 areernployed for controlling the flow :of liquidlas indicated by the arrowsv in said figure. While I have stated that a=guide is employed for the shaft 50 said guidecould be omittedandthe dis; charge pipe 8 used ,for ,guidingsaid shaft Such a structure is very inexpensive to manufacture but it is, of course, limited to use for pumping a liquid from a point directly under the point where the power is p lied.

n'Fig. 31 have illustrated a pump constructed in accordance with' my invention which is particularly adapted for use in inaccessible places, as, for example, the hold of a vessel or in comparatively deep Wells of small diameter, the pump being arranged 'at the end of a flexible'tube such, for ex ample, as a wire-wrapped hose. Said pump has the same characteristics and desirable features as the pump shown in Fig. 1 but it differs in one respect, namely, the cylin der A" is also used as an expansion chamber to which compressed air or some other suitable expansible medium issupplied by means of a conduit26 that leads up to the surface of the ground. The piston 1 fits snugly inside ofthe cylinder A? so that the liquid on theupper side of said piston cannot enter the lower portion of said cylinder or pass to the under side of the piston.

In Fig. 41 have illustrated still another embodiment of my invention which comprises a pump cylinder i 2 arranged in a horizontal position in the body of liquid being pumped, a piston 1 'reciprocatingly mounted in said cylinder and connected by a piston rod with a second piston or plunger a that operates in a horizontally arranged cylinder 27, a tube or pipe 5 that leads from the cylinder A to the discharge nozzle 8, and a hydraulic mechanism 'cotiperating with the piston l to compress the air on one side of the piston 1 in the cylinder A said cylinder A being provided. with inwardly opening check valves 1'1 which permit the liquid being pumped to rush into said cylinder when the piston 1 therein moves in the direction indicated by the arrow 00 in Fig. 4:. The pistons 1 and a form practically a'tandem plunger similar to the tandem plunger formed by the piston 1 and the plunger 4 of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, but instead of utilizing the weight of the column of water or liquid in the tube 5 to compress the expansible medium which acts on the piston in the pump cylinder to force the liquid upwardly tothe discharge nozzle, a separate and distinct column of liquid is used for this purpose. This separate and distinct column of liquid is contained in a vertically disposed tube or pipe 28 that communicates with one end of the cylinder 27 in'which the piston P of the tandem plunger operates, and a separate and distinct tandem plunger consisting of two pistons 29 and'SO connected together is arranged in the lower end of the tube 28 and in a c'ylinde1f3l located in vertical alinement with the pipe 28', said cylinder 31 being provided with a stop 32 which suddenly, arrests the downward pave en f h Pi t s. ,9. and a h inafter described. The power 9 which operates the pump is applied to a plunger 7 that is reciprocatingly mounted in the upper portion of the pipe 28, and the space between said plunger 7" and the piston 29 is filled by water or some other suitable noncompressible liquid. The pressure of the air or other medium employed in the cylinder 2.7 on one side of the piston 43 and in the cylinder 31 must be suflicient to hold both tandem plungers in the position shown in Fig. 4 when no pressure is applied to the operating plunger 7"; or, in other words, the pressure of the air must be slightly in excess of the weight of the columns of liquid in the tube 5* and in the tube 28. l/Vhen downward pressure is applied to the operating plunger 7* the column of water in the tube 28 will start to rush downwardly, and when th'e'piston 30 strikes the stop 32 the downward movement of this falling column of water will be suddenly arrested and thus cause the water to be thrown with great force against the piston 49, thereby moving said piston and the piston 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 and consequently compressing the air on the opposite sides of said pistons. The liquid being pumped is drawn into the cylinder A when the pistons move in the manner described, and when the pressure is removed from the operating plunger the expansion of the air moves both tandem plungers in the opposite direction and thus causes the liquid drawn into'the cylinder A to be forced upwardly through the tube 5 to the discharge nozzle.

In a pump of the construction above described the water producing the power never changes and the hammer-like action of the water is not utilized by means of checkvalves but by means of plungers. The pump is very powerful because the sudden arresting of the falling column of water in the tube 28 greatly increases the force which said water exerts on the piston 4L, and by designing the pump properly the column of liquid in the tube 28 can be caused to move in such a manner that it will perform practically the same function as the drive wheel of an engine, namely, to maintain inertia and require only running power expenditure while the pump is running.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

A pump comprising a horizontally arranged cylinder provided at one end with an inlet valve and a discharge conduit, a piston in said cylinder, a plunger connected to said piston, a cylinder in which said plunger is mounted, a vertically disposed pipe communicating with said last-named cylinder and containing a column. of liquid whose pressure is exerted on said plunger and piston, an expansible medium-which opposes the force exerted by said column of liquid, means for exerting downward pressure on the column of liquid in said vertically disposed pipe so as to impart a suction stroke 5 to said piston, a vertically disposed cylinder arranged in alinement with the lower end of said pipe, a tandem plunger arranged in said vertical cylinder and pipe, and a stop which suddenly arrests the downward move- 10 ment of said tandem plunger and thus causes the column of liquid to be forced laterally with great pressure against the plunger which is connected to said piston.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, 15 this 8th day of November, 1911.

CLYDE B. WALKER.

Witnesses:

J. E. BEALE, LLOYD G. HILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

